Zako from old-school 2d beat-em-ups!
Hello all,
I suppose anyone who has followed my posts knows I love to find zako from old, 2d games...there is a certain charm to these style of games, in my opinion. Although the graphics are not good, they often make up for it by presenting highly creative scenarios and interesting or unusual zako that are rarely found in other forms of media. Plus, since this zako/ryona interest is all based on fantasy anyway, seeing these creative scenarios and the interesting zako that go with them does a lot to spur my own imagination, so the bad graphics end up mattering less than the fantasy the game presents.
So with that said, here are some old-school, 2d games with old-school, 2d zako...some of them in rather normal scenarios, some of them in very creative and unusual scenarios, but either way they're all zako so it's all good!
1. Jim Lee's Wild C.A.T.S. (Covert Action Teams) - For the SNES
This is a good zako for those who like the zako beating up the hero, especially with somewhat suggestive grappling moves! :)
In this game, you play a team of superheroes who have to foil the plots of the villains and assault their evil base and all of that. Among the many guards the villains have at their base are these skimpily dressed, acrobatic women armed with spears. The hero can be pretty brutal towards them, lifting them in the air with one hand and bashing them with some sort of energy-fist thing that sends them flying through the air. And what do these henchbabes do to deserve such treatment? From what I could see, their only form of attack is to jump on the hero and wrap their legs around his head (see second pic). I'm not sure why the hero finds that so objectionable!
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Henchbabes show up at 1:21:45 in this Youtube playthrough, and show up several more times after that:
SNES Longplay [275] Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams - YouTube
2. Let's continue the superhero theme with Ultraverse Prime for Sega CD. As in the previous game, you play a muscle-bound superhero out to stop a villain by pummeling anything that gets in your way. This superhero is known for his super strength and ability to hit extremely hard, and the game drives that point home by making blood splash whenever you hit someone. In level 5, you turn those super powers against a small army of blonde amazon women wearing leotards and boots. They look pretty strong and can move pretty fast, but their only attacks are a side kick and a jump kick. By contrast, the superhero likes to stun the amazons with a few punches, then lift them by the throat with one hand and headbutt them, slam them to the ground, or uppercut them until they hit the floor and don't get up again. Alternately, he can lift two of them at the same time and slam them into each other! Given the super strength this guy possesses, the cute amazons don't stand much of a chance!
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Note: In the game, you can't actually lift an amazon by the feet and drop her into a giant carnivorous plant. I just thought it would be fun to edit this pic to make that look possible, lol:
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Amazons show up on stage 5, at about 27:05 in this YouTube playthrough:
Sega Mega-CD Longplay [036] Ultraverse Prime - YouTube
3. Ok, let's move from the comparatively advanced Sega CD to the least advanced game in this post: WWF Betrayal for the Gameboy Color. I know, I know, what kind of interesting zako scenario could a wrestling game on the gameboy possibly present? Well, I was surprised by this game. The main characters are all enormous wrestlers (Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, the Undertaker, and Triple H), and they are MUCH bigger and stronger than the zako, and each character has his own brutal method of finishing a zako off.
There are two female zako in the game. The first zako is much smaller than the main characters. She wears a red top and boots and black leggings, and her only attack is a front kick. When she is stunned by punches, her arms hang at her side and she wobbles pathetically back and forth, giving the player plenty of time to perform a finishing move. The finishing moves are where things get interesting.
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The Undertaker grabs the stunned zako by the throat, lifts her with one hand, and slams her to the ground. The Rock grabs the stunned zako in a bearhug, lifts her while squeezing, and then body slams her, crushing her with his body. (The guy must weigh about 250 pounds)!
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The other two characters are even more brutal. Steve Austin kicks the stunned zako in the groin, causing her to bend over in pain, then slams her face first into the ground. Then he walks over her body like a boss. Triple H is perhaps the most brutal. Like Austin, he kicks the stunned zako in the groin, causing her to bend over. Then he grabs the zako's head and forces it between his legs, bending her over even more in the process (and revealing some rear cleavage from the zako, lol), then he seems to use his crotch to slam the zako face first into the ground.
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The second zako wears a green top and black miniskirt. She is taller and faster than the first zako, but like the first, her only attack is to kick. However, she does have a backflip she can use to escape attacks as well.
All of the same finishing moves can be used on her as well. She seems to have an especially painful expression when she is bent over from a groin kick.
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Ok, so admittedly the graphics suck, but I have to confess I was surprised by the zako in this game. They fight enthusiastically at first, but then become very pitiful when they are hurt, and the heroes are quite brutal to them.
The first zako are found in the middle levels, like these found at 1:31 and 1:56in this YouTube playthrough:
Lameplay Theater - WWF Betrayal -Part 2- - YouTube
The second type of zako are found in the last level. Try 10:45 in the same video.
4. Let's update the graphics somewhat for the next entry. IronE brought our attention to this game, "Let's Get Fiscal", earlier in this thread, and I just had to make some edited pics from it. I don't think it is actually available yet, but a YouTube video shows these cute blonde zako wearing miniskirts and fighting the player in a bar. Their only attacks seem to be slapping and jump kicking. They look very pitiful when they are defeated, curled up on the floor:
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5. Here is perhaps the weirdest game in this post. This is Anesan, a Japanese game for the PC Engine. It is an all-female beat-em-up game, but unfortunately it does not make that concept nearly as awesome as it might be. Attacks are very limited for both the heroes and the zako, limited to basic punches and such. There are only a couple of zako, all of them used over and over many times on every level. Moreover, all of the zako are wearing very loose, nearly shapeless uniforms, and they simply fly off the screen when they have been punched enough times. The biker enemies seem to get it worse, as they seem to catch on fire when they are punched from their bikes, but they also fly off the screen very quickly. I cannot follow the story, as I know no Japanese. Perhaps someone else can make sense from this? Here is the link to the YouTube playthrough:
PC Engine Longplay [211] Ane-San - YouTube
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6. Ok, these graphics rival the Gameboy Color for how bad they are. This game is Chicago Syndicate for the Sega Game Gear. In this game, you play a former criminal given a chance at redemption if he can "clean up" the streets of Chicago by beating the stuffing out of everyone in your way. Including these brunette zako wearing white tops, red leggings, and blue heels. They are far from helpless, and attack by throwing knives and rocks at you, as well as using various kicking techniques. However, once they are stunned, they stand there very pitifully, wobbling back and forth with stars around their head, just waiting for the hero to finish them off.
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The hero faces several of these zako at 20:33 in this YouTube playthrough:
Amagameplay - Chicago Syndicate - GG -Monsieur X - YouTube
7. Ok, scratch what I said about Anesan being weird. This final entry is definitely the weirdest in this post, and perhaps one of the weirdest games I have ever seen. Nevertheless, it also seems pretty cool. You play a guy who must travel through some sort of underworld filled with monsters in order to save his wife. You start as just a regular human armed with a pistol, but powerups allow you to transform into different forms, like a dragon, a cyborg, or a demon, each with different strengths. There are three zako. The first is some sort of underworld chick in the first stage, wearing a miniskirt and wielding a gun. The second are faeries that show up in the second stage, and the third are some sort of flying harpy women in the fourth stage. The faeries and the harpies are actually not that dangerous and serve, in a way, as health items, because when they are defeated, rather than disappearing like most enemies, their bodies stay on the ground for a while, and the player can actually regain health by eating them! Like I said, it's a weird game. I think you can only eat them while in dragon or demon form, but I have not played the game myself to find out. Perhaps someone else can confirm this?
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Here's a YouTube playthrough:
King of Demons (Majuu Ou) Part 2 - YouTube
That's all for now, though there will be more 2d zako coming later.
Does anyone else agree that the concepts and creativity help make up for the graphical limitations?
Best,
- Kimblis
